


The Skinsaw Murders

by Starglider



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game), Role-Playing Games
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Rise of the Runelords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-08 00:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5476295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starglider/pseuds/Starglider
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sudden string of brutal killings terrorizes the town of Sandpoint, and the killer’s mark bears a familiar shape. Investigation leads to the Lost Coast’s most notorious haunted mansion, a dilapidated ruin that has become the lair of a monstrous murderer. Yet this killer is but one of many, a member of a group of fanatic cutthroats calling themselves the Skinsaw Men. To defeat the cult, the group travels to the bustling city of Magnimar to unravel the sinister source of these murders before they become the Skinsaw Men’s next victims.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This story continues my Pathfinder group's adventures in the Rise of the Runelords II, The Skinsaw Murders adventure module. As such, much of the overall storyline belongs to Paizo. Further, some text blocks are taken (mostly) directly from that module in order to form a coherent story. So, the standard fanfic disclaimers apply here: I am not claiming ownership; I am only playing in their world; this is not-for-profit; etc etc. If you like the story, and you are a gamemaster, please consider purchasing this module.
> 
> The heroes that rise to the challenge in this story, however, are dynamic characters. Each as their own desires, and will make changes to the overall story, as they try to shape the world to their desires. In some cases, they will actually “shortcut” some story elements; if you have ever gamemastered a group of creative players, you know how that sort of thing goes. If you wish to use these characters, or their individual story elements, in your own fictions, please mention me as the author that introduced you to them.
> 
> A note on our game. It is not 100% PRD-compliant. We have several house rules. Some of the characters have customized archetypes; a few have custom feats, and one even has a custom monster template. The actions these characters take may also not be PRD-compliant. I am one of those people that despise class-based systems; this is a workaround so that no character is bound by such a straghtjacket. This sort of thing is not for every group, but that's okay. For others, like me, Pathfinder RPG can be made “playable” with a few modifications, which then allows you to enjoy the content Paizo publishes in their modules. My point is, you will find instances of the characters doing things the rules say they shouldn't be able to do. When that happens, it is because of our mods to the system.
> 
> Finally, the requisite SPOILER ALERT: if you ever intend to play a character in this module, you shouldn't read this story. Seriously. It can ruin the adventure. If this is the case, I'd recommend you read the story after you've played through the module, and compare how well you did with my group. Be warned, however: my group sets a very high bar. We are not easily outdone.

# Introduction

After slumbering for millennia, Runelord Karzoug woke in the depths of the lost city of Xin-Shalast. Unable to travel far from the source of his power, he conscripted the stone giant Mokmurian as his minion, but Karzoug demanded more. Enslaved giants were well and good for war, but they lacked finesse. Karzoug needed more subtle agents to provide him with both intelligence on this new world and souls to fuel his return to power. He turned his attention to the monstrous creatures that had claimed sections of Xin-Shalast during his long sleep. Of all these, it was the lamias with whom he forged the closest bond.

The lamias’ allegiance secured, Karzoug sent his newest minions out into the world. For most, their orders were simply to explore and collect information about what had become of his nation of Shalast, but for a few he had special purposes in mind—these were the lamia matriarchs. He taught them what they needed to know to prepare offerings for his runewell—a magical artifact capable of storing power stolen from the souls of those sacrificed during a rite called the Sihedron ritual—and charged them with gathering souls, but left them to their own devices on how best to achieve these purposes. One of these was a lamia matriarch named Xanesha, and after four years of exploring Varisia in her human form, she found a place where greed seemed to rule, where merchants became princes and the lord himself was a paragon of avarice. This was the city of Magnimar.

Before she began her work, though, Xanesha needed a cover. Her investigations led her to an organization called the Brothers of the Seven, a secret society that was itself a cover for a cult of murderers known as the Skinsaw Men. Xanesha insinuated herself into the cult by seducing its leader, a corrupt justice named Ironbriar, and it wasn’t long before she took charge of the cult completely.

Xanesha found that running a cult of killers suited her. Themselves worshiping Norgorber, the god of greed, secrets, poison, and murder, the cultists never questioned Xanesha’s background and assumed she was a divine agent sent by their sadistic deity. Xanesha never bothered to correct them. Having secured her position as leader of the cult, she began her work of directing her new minions to “harvest” greedy souls—primarily merchants, bankers, moneylenders, gamblers, and adventurers. These poor men and women were brought back to the cult’s headquarters within a lumber mill kept as a cover for the cult’s sinister truths, where they were marked with the Sihedron Rune and then sacrificed. To further augment her own wealth, Xanesha formed an alliance with a mysterious group called the Red Mantis, a sinister organization of assassins that, among other things, has been developing several horrific diseases to use as weapons. Xanesha suspected that the caverns below a local manor built by a founder of the Brothers of the Seven might hold just such a disease that she can sell to the Red Mantis, and in so doing make a tidy profit for herself. And when a desperate noble named Aldern Foxglove approached her, the lamia matriarch saw a chance to satisfy two goals at once.


	2. Finishing The Job

# Finishing the Job

## The Bunyip

A lone goblin was pushed out of the boat, sputtering in the water. Freaking out, he managed to tread water, but couldn't return to the boat due to the spears that were pointed at him. “When I summon you, you are immortal”, he had been told, but obviously didn't believe, and so this was the proof. His master had sliced him open and pushed him into the water.

“Stay,” his master commanded, and the goblin had no choice but to obey. “Ready your dogslicer, and face the other way, towards the cave.” Again, he could not resist the order, so with a great deal of trepidation he did as he was told. And in that manner, he saw the fin approaching, and was thus fully aware, when the monster surfaced to attack. It looked something like a seal, but with fins, and several rows of shark-like teeth in its rather large mouth. Then it roared, and all the goblin could think of was getting away. He dropped his dogslicer and turned around, but that's as far as the goblin got before the monster's teeth closed around him.

Xavier watched from the boat as the monster chomped the goblin in two. The goblin's remains vanished, including the goblin's blood that had been used to attract the monster out of its lair. He didn't really need to say anything to his friends; they were already busy. Char and Idunnr had been affected by its roar (the panic resulting from that had not been expected), but everybody else speared it. It wasn't quite enough; even though it was wounded, it still made a leap onto the boat to go after Nae, who had hurt it worst. Nor was it trying to dodge blows; the thing seemed to have one goal – kill Nae, or die. It was that berzerker-like rage that did it in; Nae got one more hit in with her warpike, straight down its throat and out the back of its neck. It collapsed onto the boat, quite dead.

“What is that thing?” Morn asked, staring at it.

“We'll find out back in town,” Xavier chuckled. “Convenient, that it climbed aboard before it died.”

Nae looked sideways at Xavier, before tending to Idunnr. Meanwhile, Morn checked on Char. Both were recovering; the howl obviously had a magical effect to still cause this, even after the monster was killed. After a couple of minutes, though, they signaled they were alright.

Xavier pondered the churning surf they'd have to swim through to get inside the cave. “Morn, Char, the two of you can't swim well, so you two can stay here.” Xavier got out his rope; this time he had attached the drawstring of his net to one end. He handed the other end of the rope to Morn, and put the net into a canvas bag, closing the end around the rope. Then he stripped down, jumped into the water, and swam into the cave, bag in-hand.

“Not very bashful, is he?” Morn observed.

“Half the town has seen him naked anyway,” Nae commented to Morn's surprise. She then turned to Idunnr. “You can't possibly...”

Idunnr had half-way stripped down. “He's not going to try anything, you know,” she replied to Nae. “This is business.”

Nae watched for a moment before, grumbling, she too stripped down. Both ladies jumped into the water side-by-side, and, with some effort, swam into the cave through the choppy water.

A glittering grotto sparkled inside, its walls dripping with moisture and alive with sea urchins, anemones, and other tidal life. The cave’s roof rose to a natural dome ten feet above the water where a five-foot-wide chimney rose through the roof in a shaft. The waters inside were less choppy, but they were far from still. A five-foot-wide, fifteen-foot-long ledge sat just above the water level on the far side. Xavier sat in the middle, legs dangling in the water, resting from the effort it took to swim in. The girls joined him.

“What is that?” Idunnr asked, pointing at Xavier's tattoo.

“Its been with me ever since I can remember,” Xavier replied.

“It looks like a rune or something.”

“Yeah, right now it does.”

“You mean it changes?” Xavier nodded at Idunnr's question. “Do you know what the rune stands for right now?”

“Greed,” Xavier replied simply.

“So, what are we doing here, exactly?” Nae asked when she had caught her breath.

“The goblins would throw people down here to quiet that beast,” Xavier reminded them of the information they gained from the interrogations. “Some of those people weren't goblins. There's bound to be stuff down at the bottom of the pool to scavenge. We can put the stuff into the bag, put the bag into the net, and once we swim back to the boat, we can pull the treasure up. That way we don't have to try carrying it back with us.” Xavier looked back the way they had come; swimming through the churning waters, complete with downdrafts, had been hard enough with that sack in his hand. Going back while carrying who-knows-what would be worse, but hauling it in afterwords would work out better.

“So, this isn't just to get a view of our naked bodies?” Idunnr teased, but Nae tensed up at the words.

“Bonus!” Xavier exclaimed gleefully, before diving into the pool. There was work to be done, and Xavier wasn't about to involve Nae in any flirting if he could help it. The girl needed to get over whatever issues she had about sexuality, but that wasn't Xavier's job. That was Idunnr's job, and the fact that Idunnr would even think about teasing Xavier in Nae's presence indicated she was working on just that.

Scouring the bottom of the pool was lengthy, laborious work. The group had arrived back at the Nettlewood coast, with Thistletop in plain sight, at mid-morning; it was dusk before they hauled their catch up onto the boat, dried off, and got dressed. Tiring work, but productive.

The return to Thistletop has been in two boats, done last night under cover of darkness. Both Father Zantus and Sage Brodert has come along (along with some guards this time), as they had into the Catacombs, but Mayor Devarin had joined the party as well (this was the reason for the guards). Father Zantus, for his part, only needed to de-consecrate the shrine to Llamashtu, but happily went along for the tour, interested in its history. Brodert in turn knew the face on the statues, as belonging to Karzoug, Runelord of Greed. Each Runelord was thought to have ruled over one of seven states in the Thassalonian Empire; to find ruins from the domain of Wrath, and the domain of Greed, so close to each other implied this was a border area between the two; the message also implied an ongoing conflict between the two. Yet that meant the domain of Wrath occupied only a sliver of coastal land, a quite untenable position in any conflict with a neighbor.

Booger had made it to Thistletop, too, and had claimed his reward. Actually that wasn't precisely the goblin's name, but that's how it sounded coming off human lips. His prize – the goblin females – weren't at all happy to see the humans return, but Booger had them locked up, “until I can educate them.” He was extremely pleased at the provisions; the food would last the winter, the books would help the goblin wizard to learn how to craft simple magic items, and the provisions would let him actually do the crafting work. Mayor Devarin actually spent her time with the goblin; she and Xavier had argued for hours on end about this, but Xavier in the end had won. Thistletop needed to be occupied by something acceptable to Sandpoint, or something else would occupy it that wasn't so acceptable; the location was just too well defended, and strategically important, to be left alone. If this one rogue goblin could be trusted to keep the place from being overrun, then the attempt should be made. Further, if Booger could craft simple magic items for Sandpoint, then paying him with provisions was a small price to bear.

The mayor, priest, and sage had returned that morning with the guards, their mission accomplished. The heroes had stayed to loot the tidal pool; now that was done, too. Now that the goblin threat at Thistletop was (hopefully forever) eliminated, the group placed bets on the way back, for how long it would be before the next crisis occurred. Nobody, however, had bet that the next crisis was already occurring (although Morn would still be declared the winner, after betting “one day”).

## The Attic Whisperer

Their boat entered the harbor, to the scene of somewhat-organized chaos. As they approached closer, they got a better look. A merchant ship from Magnimar had capsized and sank in the harbor, its starboard side still visible above the waterline. Several local boats were arrayed around it, hauling wares out of the ship with nets, and divers were managing the nets so they didn't get caught on the wreckage. The entire area was lit by several hooded lanterns from the boats, and glowing rings worn by the divers. Father Zantus was in one of the boats, wand in-hand. That was probably a wand of water breathing; Xavier had learned in Riddleport, that every seaside town had at least one of those wands, for just such purposes, along with the rings of continual light. Interesting, though, that the ship had made it into the harbor, before sinking within sight of its dock.

Xavier steered the boat towards its dock. He expected to hand the boat over to one of the town guards (the boat actually belonged to the town), but Sheriff Hemlock was there to meet them, instead. As the boat pulled in, Xavier jumped onto the dock and tied it down. “Everything under control here?” He asked the sheriff.

“For once, yes, although there's some confusion among that ship's sailors as to why the thing sank at all. I'm not here for you specifically. This is just a good place to watch for trouble, and the guard who would otherwise be here, is out there in the water.” Xavier nodded as everybody climbed onto the dock. “You did have one person come by, wanting to see the lot of you as soon as possible. Ilsoari Gandethus; he's the local school's headmaster.” Xavier nodded again; he already knew who Ilsoari was, from back when he was exploring Sandpoint, but there was no reason his friends would know the until-now useless information.

They made a quick stop at the townhouse to drop off the loot, and headed for Turandarok Academy. A knock on the door was quickly answered. Ilsoari was dressed in red robes with white trim. His long, thin face sported deep-set eyes and a hook nose that was framed by his graying hair and full-length beard. His perpetual scowl brightened a bit when he saw the adventurers.

“Ah, you're back in town. Come in, come in. Thank you for your time; I have a problem I'm hoping you can help me solve.”

Ilsoari showed them down to the basement of the school, where he lived, and into his sitting room. The room itself was decorated with all sorts of exotic weapons, strange maps, and monster trophies. As he poured them tea, he began.

“I know you're tired from your trip, so I'll be brief. As you may know, this isn't just a school for the town's children. The second floor doubles as the town's orphanage. Recently, however, the orphans haven't been talking, not even during school. It's been rather frustrating. Whenever I'm around, they don't talk. Whenever other children are around, they don't talk. What's worse, however, is their expressions. They are terrified of something. This has been going on ever since poor Danny died in the goblin attack. However, when they think they're alone, they do make some noise.

Ilsoari gestured to a set of small pipes jutting from a wall. Each pipe had a hinged lid on the end; all but one of the lids was closed. “I have pipes laid out within the academy, to each room. In the silence, you can listen in to the goings-on, everywhere within this building. They keep repeating a rhyme, but that's all they ever say, even when alone. Here, it's beginning again.”

Can you hear him waking?  
Up above the stairs?  
Can you hear him weeping?  
is he really there?  
Can you say ‘i’m speaking?’  
Are you saying naught?  
is it you who’s weeping?  
is it you he’s caught?  
When the nursery rhyming  
Has whispered up above  
is it you who sounds  
in the attic, my love?  
When you hear your voice  
Echoing on high  
is the voice a whisper  
is it just his lie?

Ilsoari continued, “I've tried everything I know of, to get them to talk to me about whatever it is. I've even tried detect magic, to see if anything mystical was afoot. It was that attempt, that caused me to seek help, for I picked up something, necromantic in origin, except that it seemed to radiate from the very walls. Father Zantus thinks its nothing; he wouldn't bother with it. Will you?”  
Idunnr asked, “Tell us about Danny.”

Ilsoari paused. “He was a Varisian, which meant he wasn't the most well-liked child in the orphanage, but I made sure the others at least left him alone. His family died by Chopper's hands five years ago. A well-mannered child, always doing his schoolwork early. I always wanted to take him under my wing, but children being what they are, it would have caused no end of troubles for him with the others. Although now, I regret not having done so.

“Don't second-guess yourself,” Morn added. “You're doing the best you can. That you would at least consider the possibilities speaks highly of you.”

Ilsoari gave Morn a small smile. “Thank you, but he's still dead, and I'll always wonder if he'd still be alive if I had tried more.”

“Goblins killed him?” Char asked.

Ilsoari nodded mournfully. “We found his half-eaten body the next morning. He was eight years old.”

“Well, let's go have a look,” Xavier volunteered, and the others agreed.

The orphanage section was dark, as the children were supposed to be sleeping. But when the group entered the bedroom, they saw the children were awake, and all sitting up – in the exact same pose, with their legs stretched straight forward, their arms folded up, their faces blank of emotion, and their expressionless eyes staring at the newcomers.

Xavier opened himself up, then immediately closed himself off again with a shudder, gathering stares from the group. “They're screaming,” he said. “In terror.”

“What?” Ilsoari gasped.

“He's an empath,” Idunnr explained. “He can hear them in his mind.”

Xavier scanned the room, and located the pipe. Opening himself back up, just a little, he moved towards the pipe, and registered recognition from the children. “They know about this,” he told Ilsoari, pointing at the pipe.

“What? How?”

“Children aren't stupid,” was all that Xavier could say about it.

Xavier paced the room, gauging his progress by the children's fear. The fear reached a peak in the far left corner. Not finding anything, he walked over to the closest child, a chubby-but-cute boy of maybe six years, and knealt down so as to be at eye-level to him.

Where is it? Help me to help you. I can stop this. Xavier focused the boy's full attention on him and his mental communication. He could feel the boy try to open his mouth, and fail. He could feel the boy struggling, and panicking. Show me. The boy then tried to move, but couldn't. However, the boy did manage to lift his eyes upward.

Xavier looked upwards, too. “Oh, of course. Isn't it always? Guys, how many times have we been screwed, simply because nobody thought to look up? New rule: always look up,” he said, staring at the trap-door leading to the attic. He glanced around for methods of climbing up; one particular bookshelf looked suspiciously empty, and thus light enough to be moved to the opening, yet sturdy enough for children to climb.

“But nobody's been up there in ages,” Ilsoari said.

Xavier glanced around the room, scanning the children. “They have. They all have. You have no pipe up there, do you?” Xavier paused for effect; the children needed to hear this as much as Ilsoari. “That is why you never heard them torture Danny. That is why Danny is now torturing the children.” That last bit was just a guess, but his empathy with the children told him immediately that was the truth, as part of the terror gave way to sorrow and guilt.

“Danny?” Ilsoari almost screamed.

“You should stay here,” Morn said as he walked over and pushed the trapdoor up and open with his staff. Xavier hooked the end of his warpike on the edge, and climbed up, lowering a rope down behind him to make the ascent easier for the others.

The attic had been turned into a playroom of sorts. Although dark, dank, and rather dusty, and with cobwebs strewn along all sides, the center area had various small toys scattered about. Shuttered windows overlooked Sandpoint from all sides. The floor creaked under the weight of the adults, but otherwise held steady. Xavier pulled out his everburning skull to shed more light into the area.

The thing in the corner of the attic resembled an emaciated child. It was a gray, forgotten remnant with cobwebs and dust covering the leering, fox skull that served as its head. In tiny, claw-like hands it grasped a stuffed child’s toy – a ratty dolly with pins in its eyes. Worse were the voices, the calling whispers that haunted the air, filling it with nursery rhymes, sobbing, and laughing at the same time, as if the air around the creature were alive with lost invisible children. As Xavier studied it, his attention quieted his friends, who had obviously spotted it as well. Then, one of the voices became louder and clearer than the rest.

“They are mine.”

“Please let them go,” Xavier asked.

“I was their toy; now they are mine. I will play with them like they played with me.”

“You already have been.”

“I have just only started.”

“And yet they will never forget you, and the lesson you have taught them.”

“I am not here to teach; I am here to play. Even now they scream as I once did.”

“Yes, just as I once did too.” Xavier paused, and when no response was forthcoming, continued. “In another place, they played with me, and made me scream, but I moved on. Its time for you to move on.”

“Never. They are mine to play with, until they die, and then beyond.”

Xavier opened his mind a little again, and gasped, before shutting the emotions off. “Hatred. You're full of hatred now, and nothing else. The better part of you has already moved on. You're just a remnant now.” Xavier hefted his warpike, but the creature disappeared. Dropping the pike, Xavier lunged at the spot, tackling the invisible thing, pinning him to the ground. At this range, Xavier could hear it, in his mind, through his blocks – all the voices, lingering around it – whimpers, limericks, songs, and sobs. He also couldn't breathe, nor could he talk without breath. The world spun, but he managed to send off an image to his friends, of them spearing the monster that he had pinned.

It was rather strong for being child-like, but it was still small, and Xavier had it properly pinned despite the distraction of the voices, so Xavier concentrated on breathing while he held it down. Inhale – good, exhale – his breath was stolen again, inhale – still tough, but doable, and so on. He couldn't make his voicebox work, but he could at least breathe.

Eventually breathing got easier, and Xavier opened his eyes again. The monster was in pieces; dusty junk and toys, once again, with no cohesive force binding them together, and many of them broken now. His friends had done their job, and had managed not to hit him as they did it. He did notice some marbles with rather intricate artwork, and collected them. More important was another item, that seemed to have been at the center of the monster.

With his empathy, he scanned around. The hatred was gone, as was the terror below, replaced fully by sorrow and guilt. Everybody climbed down; the children were sobbing now, and in some cases wailing, but they were now on the path to recovery. Ilsoari had his hands full, but still stopped when Xavier approached and handed over that last item.

Ilsoari looked at the three-year-old Danny, in his loving mother's lap, and his proud father standing behind them. It was a small portrait, probably copied off a larger portrait that was now forever lost. The others volunteered to stay and help, but Xavier begged off. The place was just bringing back too many bad memories for him, and had even raised the specter of what he could have become, had his own childhood been just a little bit different.

## Ambush

The mayor had summoned everybody, yet again, but it was common knowledge as to what happened. It was just two days after they had dealt with the attic whisperer, when a caravan from Magnimar had been attacked. Normally there were no caravans, as they were supplied by ocean, but merchant shipping was deemed hazardous until the wreck was cleared out of the not-very-large harbor.

“Goblins,” the mayor said.

“I'm not surprised,” Xavier responded. “You now have guards watching Junker's cliff. The goblins can't scavenge from Sandpoint anymore, so they're getting desperate. That, plus we displaced an entire tribe when we raided Thistletop. Well, we displaced the survivors. We've noticed that goblin tribes don't integrate easily with each other. They're probably fighting each other, and so wearing out their equipment all the faster, and that just increases the desperation. Our initial plan didn't include caravans at all; our biggest worry was the farmers and outlying villages.”

“The long-term solution is to clear the harbor, and we're working on that, but we need to better protect the caravans while we are forced to rely on them. Its become a point of vulnerability. Three people lost their lives today in that attack. The goblins are using giant geckos to quickly navigate the hills west of Devil's Platter, to both attack and withdraw. They isolated a wagon and disabled it; every time we tried to salvage its contents they hit us again. In the end, we were forced to abandon it,” the sheriff remarked. “When we do get back to it, I expect it to be completely looted, and even the wagon will probably be burned down.”

Xavier nodded. “The ability of the goblins to quickly move across the terrain is the primary problem. It is that mobility that is the threat. Since you asked us to this meeting, I assume you want us to deal with that?”

“We'll be providing more guards to escort the next caravan past that area, but they won't be able to give chase due to those damned cliffs,” the mayor remarked. “I'd like you nearby, when the next caravan comes through, to hit them from behind.”

“Do you have any goblins taken prisoner?”

“I knew you'd ask that,” Hemlock grunted, “but no, they didn't take prisoners. Remembering what you did after the raid on Sandpoint, though, I did manage to retrieve bits of their clothing before their bodies were burned.” Hemlock produced a small sack and handed it to Xavier.

“I've got another idea that will help, but I'll need some stuff from you to make it work. I'll get you a list.” Xavier said as he accepted the sack. “When is the next caravan due?”

“We arranged for caravans every two days until we get the harbor cleared. That should be done inside a week.”

So, two days until the next caravan. “Perfect. That gives us a chance to scout out the area.” Xavier looked at his friends, but no questions were forthcoming, and so Mayor Devarin dismissed them.

And so the group found themselves scouting the area the next day. Xavier had a large sack of stuff he picked up from the mayor, plus an extra polearm; he also mentioned he expected to meet a pair of goblins while they were out. It all came together for Idunnr when she saw the goblins, halfway to their destination. One of them was one of the goblins Xavier had “tagged” two weeks ago.

Xavier walked up to the goblins, alone, but Nae was able to overhear the entire conversation, and translate and relay it for the rest of the group.

The second goblin was extremely wary of Xavier, so Xavier concentrated on his minion first. “Here,” he said, and tossed the polearm and sack of stuff to the creature. “This is all yours now.”

The first goblin – named Kretch, if Idunnr remembered correctly – tore open the sack, and, jumping for joy, pulled out the contents. Soon Kretch was wearing breastplate armor and a buckler, and sported a new longsword, longbow and arrows, and that polearm, all sized for the gnomes, which of course was close enough that goblins wouldn't have problems using them. Xavier even included a couple of small sacks of caltrops; it didn't take long for the excited goblin to catch on to how to use them.

“You are not immortal when I haven't summoned you, but this will help,” Xavier told Kretch.

“Yes. We need metal for weapons. We can't go to the junk pile anymore; longshanks kill us when we do. But other goblins still have metal, and attack us,” Kretch complained.

“What if I told you where those goblins kept their women and children, and what if I told you when there would be fewer guards? You could take their women and children while the guards are away.”

Kretch brightened up at the prospect, so Xavier took out the small sack and tossed it to him. The goblin pulled out the clothing remnants and scowled, “Mosswood.” This was old news to Idunnr; she had taken the sack to the herbalist, who had also identified that area.

“Exactly. The Mosswood goblins are raiding longshanks for their metal.” Xavier began.

“But the longshanks will kill us all if we keep doing that!” Kretch protested.

“Yes, so we will stop it, and you will live.” Xavier continued, and Kretch quieted down, listening. “Tomorrow at this time, you will attack Mosswood with as many of your tribe as will follow you. Kill the men; take the women and children for yourself. Most of their men will be busy attacking us, so they will not be there. You will have to fight, but it will be easier on you with them gone.”

“...Attacking you,” Kretch repeated, considering the ploy.

“And we will kill many of them,” Xavier confirmed, “but some will escape, and it is important that you be done with your attack before they return.”

“They will find out where we went, and attack us,” Kretch complained.

“Yes, but you will be back at Shankswood. You can set your traps, and you will have the entire tribe to defend from their attack. They will die, you will have their women and children, and the longshanks will be left alone so that they will kill no more goblins.”

“That will make me a hero. But what if Korovus returns?”

“Korovus?”

“The hero of our tribe. He has a short temper, and will not like me being hero in his tribe.”

“Hmm. Tell me about him.”

“He has a magic longsword sized for ...well, you, that he kept as his own. He vanished several months ago after he discovered a secret hideout in a cave long the cliffs.”

“Hmm. This longsword?” Xavier drew his blade, the one taken from the giant mutated goblin they killed in the catacombs.”

“That one! Is he dead?”

“Yes.”

“You killed him?”

“A trap changed him; he was no longer a goblin. We killed what was left of him. But he will not be returning; you may become your tribe's hero without fear.” Kretch smiled and nodded. Xavier continued, “Now, I need to re-bind you. This will not hurt; do not resist.” Xavier then cast his binding spell on Kretch again, and although Kretch shuddered in fear of the magic, the goblin did not balk.

Then Xavier turned his attention to the second goblin, who had been greedily eyeing Kretch's loot. You, there, what is your name?”

“Thoggik.” The goblin replied. It didn't seem to be afraid anymore, because even when being addressed the thing continued lusting for Kretch's gear.

“Do you want a set of metal stuff for your own?” Xavier asked, and that got Thoggik's full attention; he nodded his entire body in response.

“I told Kretch to bring the best goblin ranger of his tribe. Are you the best ranger of your tribe, Thoggik?” Thoggik nodded. “I rewarded Kretch for obeying me. If you obey me too, I will reward you. Will you obey me?” Thoggik nodded again. “Did you understand my plan for Kretch? Repeat it to me.”

“Kretch will attack the Mosswood goblins while their warriors are away attacking you.”

“Yes. Tomorrow, at this time. You will go to Mosswood first, and watch them. When their warriors leave to attack us, you will tell Kretch. Then, Kretch can attack them, and you will attack them also. You may take their women and children for yourself. There will be too many for Kretch alone. There should be enough for every Shankwsood warrior. Do this, and I shall reward you.” Thoggik was clearly excited about his part in the plan. Either he was good enough to pull it off, or stupid enough to think he could pull it off; Idunnr didn't know which. “Oh, Thoggik? Don't go to Mosswood wearing Shankswood clothes. Go find Nettlewood clothes instead.” The goblin acknowledged the command. “You two have your orders, now. Begone!”

“You're turning the goblin tribes against each other.” Idunnr stated when Xavier returned.

“If we wipe them out, another evil will take their place, something that is possibly worse. But Sandpoint can be made safer if they're busy fighting each other instead.”

“You're not concerned about equipping goblins?” Morn asked.

“Considering the shortage of metal they are otherwise dealing with , one set of equipment that is not even masterwork quality will not make a difference,. It simply makes my figurehead that much more powerful, and that in turn increases the likelihood of this working out in our favor.”

“You didn't bind Thoggik,” Char noted.

“He's not worth it unless he proves himself capable.”

And with that, Xavier led the group into the hills. More precisely, he had Nae lead them into the hills. He didn't want to disturb the mounted goblin scouts, but only to see where they were, where the ambushes were most likely to occur, and where the group could hide out until the next ambush – ideally with a good view of the goblin scouts.

They found the scouts (4 of them), but couldn't find a hiding spot with a good view, big enough to conceal more than one of them. However, there was a big enough hiding spot fairly close by, so the heroes stayed there for the night, and Nae moved to the watch position overlooking the goblin scouts an hour before the caravan was due. Sure enough, at the appointed time, Nae returned with information that a pair of scouts had run off eastward, and the other pair was shadowing the caravan. Everybody was ready for action after a day and night of boredom.

The path the goblins chose, however, was not conducive to foot travel. The large amount of climbing that was required slowed the group down, such that when they caught up, the ambush was well under-way. Twelve warriors had joined the four scouts; all mounted. The warriors were charging with makeshift lances, then withdrawing under cover of arrows from the scouts, just to set up another charge. Already, the horses on the rear wagon had been killed, and it appeared a couple of guards were down too.

Xavier went after the archers; two sleep spells took the goblins down, while the geckos stood around doing nothing. Nae pegged the goblin leader with arrows (injuring but not killing him), while Morn shot magic missiles and Char snapdragon fireworks (which, together, took down a warrior). Idunnr and her cats held ready for when their position at the top of the hill was overrun, which didn't take long. The remaining 11 goblins charged their position, running at full speed up the hillside. Xavier stood in front of them, and smiled – 3 of the geckos, which had been aimed at him, stopped in their tracks, sending their goblins flying. The cats pounced on two goblins as they charged past towards Char, and Idunnr did much the same from her hiding position. At the last moment, Morn color sprayed the three attacking him; two of the geckos were knocked out, sending their riders flying, and the rider of the third gecko fared no better – he fell off his mount, and the uncontrolled mount came to a stop next to Morn, declining to attack. Char conjured a flaming sphere in front of the leader, who aborted his charge on Nae rather than run into the fire; Nae quickdrew her warpike and traded blows with the final charging goblin, leaving Nae wounded but the goblin dead – although the mount did attack (and miss), with its rider dead, it showed no interest in further aggression.

The goblin leader took a look around him and decided to make a run for it, using the terrain to block any parting shots. Those goblins who were dismounted were easy prey for Xavier's sleep spells. Idunnr and Nae gathered the gecko mounts together while the rest made their way down to help the caravan. One of the down guards wasn't quite dead yet; Idunnr healed him to ensure his survival. It took another hour (and some rope trickery on Xavier's part) to hook up some geckos to pull the last wagon, but at last the caravan was on its way again.

Once the caravan was at town, Xavier had Idunnr and Nae tie the geckos together, so they could be led single-file, and then take the geckos back out, saying he needed to grab a second equipment sack he left at the townhouse. He quickly rejoined them outside town, and summoned Kretch.

The goblin appeared in front of him, looking just like when Xavier rebound the creature. “My wound is gone,” he mentioned as he poked a spot on his leg.

“Only while you are summoned, but I'm sure the wound will heal in time. How did the attack go?”

“We lost a few of our own but slaughtered many. Most of the women and children ran off, but we tracked down a lot of them. We left when Big Gugmut came back; he was wounded with arrows but still, nobody wanted to fight him.”

“Do you recognize this place?” Xavier waved around.

“Yes, that's Ravenroost,” Kretch said, pointing from the road to the southeast. Are those the Mosswood Geckos?” he asked, indicating the pack of geckos Idunnr and Nae were tending to.

“I want you to bring Thoggik here.” Xavier continued without answering the question.

Kretch paused for a moment at the abrupt change in the conversation. “Ok”.

“Now.”

“Ok.” And with that, Xavier dismissed the goblin, who popped away like all summoned creatures do.

It took half an hour before the two goblins showed up, Kretch sporting a noticeable limp due to a piercing wound to his leg. Xavier addressed Thoggik first. “Well?”

“Thoggik has 2 wives now!” the goblin grinned. The goblin was also uninjured.

“You have done well,” Xavier replied, smirking. “I will bind you to my service now, as I have done Kretch. First, put these on.” Xavier tossed a sack to Thoggik.

“Different metal armor. Lesser,” Thoggik complained, looking at Kretcher.

“Stealthier,” Xavier replied. “You can't sneak up on anything in his armor.” Thoggik considered that, then put it on without complaint. He shouldered the weapons, except the lance, which drew another complaint.

“Lance no good without mount.”

“True. Pick a gecko.”

Thoggik blinked in surprise before leaping towards the geckos and grabbing the closest one. He dragged it over, scooped up the lance, and jumped onto his new mount.

“Now, stay still. This will not hurt.” Thoggik cowered a bit as Xavier cast his spell, but otherwise stood his ground without complaint. “Very good. Now, go. Have fun with your wives.”

Xavier turned to Kretch. “You are the hero of Shankswood now, yes?”

“Mostly. Some follow me, but some are jealous.”

“These geckos are yours now. Give them to your followers as rewards.” Kretch grinned at that and took the reins of the lead gecko. “Take what you want from the other goblin tribes, but make sure your goblins leave all longshanks alone.”

“No hurt any longshanks. Got it.”

“You may go.” And with that, Kretch led his geckos off towards Shankswood.

Xavier turned back towards the ladies. “That's it. Hopefully the goblins will stay busy fighting each other now. That, and I have a pair of decently-equipped goblins now, that I can summon in a fight. That is, provided they don't get themselves killed in the meantime.”

“Goblin lives do tend to be short and vicious,” Idunnr agreed.

“Do you think this is it? No more goblin worries?” Nae asked.

“We couldn't be so lucky,” Xavier replied. “But perhaps now we can concentrate on other things, at least for a little while.

## Chaos

That evening, however, the sheriff came to talk to the heroes again.

“One of our swimmers has gone missing,” he explained. “His companions assumed he had left work early, but the last anybody has seen of him was him in the water, helping to tear apart the wreckage."

“You think its something in the water, then?” Morn asked.

“Yes.”

“And the guards can't investigate because...” Morn again asked.

“They're incompetent,” Xavier interrupted flatly. When all heads turned to watch him, he continued. “At the Swallowtail Festival, the goblins infiltrated the city, yet the guards didn't notice a thing. I can understand them missing a few goblins here and there, but not as many as attacked us. There's a reason I've only trusted them with things like crowd control. I expect swimming, and fighting, are exactly two things more than they can handle at the same time.” Xavier paused, glancing at Sheriff Hemlock. “And I expect Belor here agrees with me, or else he wouldn't be here.”

Belor grumbled out at this, “As I was about to say, I did send the guards in, and now one of them is gone, too. Another guard, near to him at the time, saw him struggle before the light from his ring vanished. So, there's something down there. I've pulled the workers out of the water, but we desperately need to clear the wreckage, too.”

“And so you've come to us,” Xavier said, and the sheriff nodded. “We'll each need one of those rings, and a shot from that wand of water breathing. But not tonight.”

“Why not tonight?” Idunnr asked.

“Because only one guard was taken. This sounds more like the guard was lunch, than anything else. There will be no way to track any such creature to its lair due to the water. We'll need to wait until its hungry enough to hunt again. We can try tomorrow, but I wouldn't hold my breath over it. We'll probably have to lure it out.”

“Like we did with the Bunyip under Nettlewood,” Char added, and Xavier nodded.

So the next few days saw Xavier and Company out “fishing” (minus the cats, who didn't like the water). This time, instead of using Kretch, he used Thoggik, so as to teach the goblin about “summoning immortality”. It also helped that Thoggik was a better swimmer, and so could stay in the water longer.

Eventually, Xavier perked up while everybody was lounging around, bored. “Incoming,” he said. “A dozen-ish sentient minds, plus two-dozen-ish animals grouped so tightly together I'd say they were tiny.” It was due to Xavier's empathy that Char managed to hit everybody once with the wand of water breathing, but whatever the creatures were under the water, they didn't actually attack Thoggik.

Nae noticed it first, of course. “I smell burning,” she said, looking around. “There! The bottom of the boat is burning!” And right at that moment a large hole gave way. There was no way to patch it, nor was there any way to stop more holes if they managed to patch the first. Fortunately they had left most of their equipment at the townhouse, including their armor, but they were still forced to dive into the harbor, now vulnerable to whatever was lurking. Idunnr took the time to cast sanctuary on herself, and was thus the last one in.

Blank white eyes, broad torn ears, and a wide maw filled with jagged yellow teeth and oversized fangs swayed atop the body of several small-sized serpents. Combining the worst features of a rabid maniac and an oversized snake, scales that look more greasy than slick formed powerful, black, and limbless trunks. At the top of each, from their gray, lipless goblin heads, flicked a long, thin, forked tongue. Surrounding the “goblin snakes” were lesser snakes, that is if you can count a viper as being a lesser snake.

Thoggik was gone, but Xavier had told Idunnr earlier that the summoning cantrip was a concentration effect, and that a creature thus summoned by the cantrip was nearly useless in a fight anyway (he'd have to use a more powerful summoning spell to grant his summoned creatures any real ability to fight, and even then it worked only up to such a creature's actual abilities). Instead of keeping Thoggik as bait, Xavier was spellcasting (sleep, she worked out), as was Morn (color spray) and Char (acid splash). Idunnr started summon nature's ally.

Morn's spell went off first, but their group training paid off. Nae's people had developed a sign language, that Xavier had turned into the basis of their combat communication. They had even incorporated spell gestures for those spells that could catch a team member by surprise, such as color spray. So if you saw that particular gesture, you had a split second to avert your eyes. Given that it was Morn's go-to area spell, they had practiced (painfully) until the reaction was automatic. Thus it was only the snakes that were affected. Some managed to shake it off due to actually being just out of range, or outside the conic area of effect, and a few managed to avert their eyes in time, but three of the goblin snakes and a great many of the vipers were knocked out right away.

Char was definitely out of his element due to the water; even his acid spash flew wide of its target, but the others did better. Nae was already punching with her sword (having no footing to swing it), but still managed to skewer a goblin snake and a viper in one thrust. Xavier finished his spell, knocking three still-active vipers out, and swam directly into a swarm of still-active vipers.

Two vipers attacked Idunnr, but changed their minds due to the sanctuary effect. A goblin snake attacked her too, penetrating the effect, but it missed, and thus Idunnr's spell wasn't disrupted. Xavier defended against a goblin snake with his ring of force shield as the swarm of vipers attacked him mercilessly, but couldn't pierce his skin. The vipers' focus on Xavier actually kept everybody else from being overwhelmed. Char managed to squirm around enough to be missed by a goblin snake, although his armor spell (probably cast while everybody else was looking for the source of the burning smell) definitely helped. Morn got bit by a goblin snake, and Nae got bit by a viper, but overall Idunnr thought the group was doing much better overall than they should have been.

Idunnr's dolphin appeared, which she directed at the goblin snake that had penetrated her sanctuary, and started summoning another. Xavier repeated his sleeping, and Nae repeated her stabbing. Morn switched to magic missile, and Char aimed his next acid spash on the goblin snake Morn damaged, injuring it further but not killing it yet. They kept to these tactics, and soon the snakes were overwhelmed and eliminated. The group killed off all the snakes that had been sleeping before swimming ashore.

“They were desperate and starving,” Xavier said once they were out. “They had nowhere else to go anymore, nowhere to retreat to, and thus they never even considered running away. I couldn't tell any more from my empathy, but I expect they were displaced recently.

“The Thisletop raid?” Idunnr asked. “You think goblins from there displaced the snakes?”

“Or displaced something else, that in turn displaced the snakes,” Morn added.

“So our actions may have caused this,” Xavier noted. “Interesting, how chaos flows across the world. Still, it couldn't be helped. The consequences of us not raiding Thistletop would have been worse.” Nobody argued the point.


End file.
